Lumen de lumine - LA MILAGROSA ALTARPIECE
Today, in the third millennium, it is a question of building an altarpiece in a church in the centre of Madrid, built and restored, which lacked a main altarpiece: the Virgen Milagrosa Church in Calle García de Paredes.
And, of course, we decided that the centre of the altarpiece should be the tabernacle, with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament really present there. And how could this tabernacle be other than suspended in the air, in the centre of a cloud of light? Lumen de lumine, light of light.
When I received this commission, a gift from the wonderful Padres Paules at the end of 2023, I had a simple inspiration that led me from the very first moment to the solution we are proposing today.
In the centre of the altarpiece wall, at the exact height of the view, so high that as soon as we enter the nave this LUMEN DE LUMINE can attract us with such force that, from the first moment, it leads us to prayer, to dialogue with Jesus who is present there, surrounded by a marvellous light.
We opened a square opening in the centre, high up in the brick wall of the apse. This way we get as much natural light as possible. To collect this natural light, we built a cube of translucent white glass measuring 1.20 x 1.20 x 1.20 m, a large part of which is exposed to the outside, receiving natural light. To enhance it, when necessary, we used LED technology which, after numerous tests with models, has led us to some truly marvellous results. The levelling has been done with laser beams, and the union of the translucent glasses that make up the cube, with ultraviolet rays.
And in the centre of this cubic cloud of light, suspended in the air, the golden tabernacle which, for the first time in the history of the Liturgy of the Catholic Church, is in this position, suspended in the air, levitating. So logical that it seems incredible that it has not been done until now.
And nothing else. The arrangement of the floor to facilitate access to this high tabernacle, without losing the simplicity of the circumvallation through the apse, is an easy solution. We have built six steps to reach the top, the light.
We believe that our enthusiasm is in keeping with the beauty of the solution proposed, found and built. Beauty in the service of the Lord.
Technical data
Architect: Alberto Campo Baeza. Location: Madrid. Client: Básilica La Milagrosa. Project: 2023. Built: 2024. Collaborators: Juanjo Sánchez Rivas, Alejandro Cervilla García, Ignacio Aguirre López, Alfonso Guajardo-Fajardo Cruz, Elena Pérez Espigares, Rodrigo Gonzalez Rivero (Architecs); Óscar del Río (Ferram, Light consultant); Margarita Remacha (Signify, Light consultant); Marcos López (Iguzzini, Light consultant); Andrés Rubio Morán (Structure). Contractor: Alejandro Ruiz, Jose Manuel Rodriguez, Fernándo Sánchez (Serviteco)
